Dual Fates
Chapter 14: Time before the Tournament.
"Dude, come ooooon! I want some hard-boiled eggs and some pocky! The cafeteria's going to get crowded if we don't hurry, I want some good seats!~" Haru's amused voice rang throughout the hallway in the stadium, as her hands pulled on a pair of feet that refused to go past the bathroom door frame.
Uviel, who was inches above the floor in the girls' bathroom, held onto a large pipe to keep herself from getting forced into the hall. The sound of creaking, bending of the metal she held onto, continued to reach her ears and her closed eyes showed the annoyance on her face; gritted teeth, red-tinted cheeks, the girl did not want to leave the bathroom...
"Nooo! Let go of me! I don't want to face people like this! My face is red, no thanks to you!" hollered out the cyber-girl, who fought against her best friend's grasp to the best of her ability...well, to the point where she wouldn't hurt her.
"That just means you think he's hot, stop being a baby!" Frustration was clear on Haru's face after that statement and with one final tug, the brunette tumbled backward with a faint squeal, followed by the redhead that fell onto the floor.
Now that Uviel was finally out of the bathroom, the girl blinked after noticing the hallway and perked her head up. "Sorry, Har-Har..." mumbling her apology, the girl stood to her feet and offered her best friend a helping hand.
"Nah, it's all good.~ Hahaha, you got the hots for him! Let's go, we only have an hour break so let's stuff some food in our gut!~" giggled the brunette as she sped down the hall, with Uviel waving like a flag in the wind.
Turning corners, leaving the stadium, through the many stands outside, the girls finally came across a shop that made a lovely scent waft up through her nose. "Mmm, burgers...!~ I think I'll skip out on hard-boiled eggs and grab some burgers instead! What about you?!" her enthusiasm never fell for a second while blind hues remained in place and not long after did she hear Saito's reply.
Many citizens passed them by and students were headed to the cafeteria, so UV-Ray had to decide quickly so time wouldn't be wasted. "Yeah...sure. Hey, I wonder if they have any chicken sandwiches or something," As the redhead agreed and stepped close to the food stand, her blue hues examined all of the options on the menu behind the caterer.
"Of course, little lady! What would you like, Grilled or crispy?" the overweight man who's white apron had stains of all kinds plastered and grease on his hat, grinned brightly at her.
"Crispy, please...and Haru will take the double cheeseburger," Uviel ordered before pulling out her wallet that was stuffed inside of her jumpsuit and guessed the amount she needed for the food.
"Alrighty! Lucky for you, there are some fresh and hot ones already prepared. Here you go!" the greasy man reached behind him then opened a small door to a heating rack, before taking them out and handing them over to the girls.
"Awesome, it smells great!" Haru happily chimed in and dramatically sniffed the scent of the burger with a long, deep inhale. As soon as Saito paid for the grub, the brunette took her burger and ran over to the nearest bench.
"Hm?" a deep voice made a puzzling sound, it was the same cloaked man who ate at the same bench Haru decided to sit on. In fact, he was sitting on the far end of it and his curious hum caught the brunette's ears. Though she didn't turn to face him, her eyes remained in place but her ears were glued to his location. "You're Yukimura, from the festival," those blind hues blinked at his words, right after her teeth ripped a piece of her sandwich off to chew.
"Yup!~ And, you're that weirdo who stared at me a few weeks ago. The same dude that smelled like he hopped out of the sewer like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.~" a teasing grin grew over her lips and mischievousness was clear in her voice, when a few giggles escaped.
A hysterical ten-ton weight fell on his head at her comeback and caused him to comedically tumble off of the bench. Though when the unnecessary weight got shoved off and tossed out of view, a humorous cat howl echoed followed by a large crash. The second his cloaked figure sat back down, something shifted from behind him underneath and kept rising continuously. "I can't help how I smell...!" Angry, the man's words were followed by a reptilian hiss, and the rise and fall from beneath his cloak picked up its pace. "Besides, I've been meaning to say hi. You're pretty strong for a blind girl so I wanted to know how you're able to pull off what you do," saying that made Haru's grin turn upside down, but soon returned the minute she rose up from the bench and spun around to fully face him.
"Hahahaha, do you think a blind girl would make it here without any preparations?~ It's obvious, dude! I trained before I applied to U.A.!" the brightest grin, such energy, the beauty in her expression and how she moved, his yellow eyes lit up in awe at the sight. The brunette's long and low ponytail swayed softly behind her, when she leaned over laughing and held the burger behind her. "I'm Haru Yukimura, I know you already knew since you saw me in the stadium, but it never hurts to have a proper introduction. What's yours?!" Pure excitement showed on her face and his own faintly lit up with pink.
His head lowering, that natural-looking smirk twitching, his slits narrowed when he heard her ask and felt a little uncertain about introducing himself. "Kyoshi... Wani Kyoshi," his introduction was a little harsh and emphasized. When he rose to his full height, which was six foot and eight inches, from the small distance Uviel had turned to see the two conversing.
Between the tiny, open space that the cloak didn't cover up was a large, light green abdomen and darker green on his skin. Despite the fact that he was abnormally colored, scales littered his body and reflected a little bit of light that beamed on his chest. Bright yellow eyes gleamed through the shadow under the hood of his cloak, his arms couldn't be seen but a couple of pieces of clothing that his coverage hid could be seen over his pecks. Bright yellow straps crisscrossed and seemed to be holding something together, the cyber-girl assumed it was something under his cloak that it was connected to but didn't really care either. "Har-Har, we're gonna be late! I already ate my sandwich," the redhead spoke up and stepped closer to the brunette who stood before the reptilian-looking man. "Who's that?" her words made yellow eyes blink then avert from her own, not too much longer did he turn to leave.
"Him? Wani Kyoshi, we just introduced ourselves! He must be a citizen or something who's watching the festival," her friend answered happily before she took a quick bite of her sandwich.
"You shouldn't be greeting each person that talks to you... You never know, they might be a villain in disguise or something...!" Uviel's concern didn't go unnoticed, in fact, it caused the brunette to hum in response with a finger to her chin.
In the distance, Wani's gaze moved to his peripherals upon hearing the redhead's outburst, and a low grumble resonated from his throat. I can't show myself if I want to watch the festival. his irritated monologue paused for a moment and returned his attention forward once more. That girl though, the redhead. She's too smart for her own good... Slight anger could be heard in his mental words as he strode past several pro heroes who conversed near some food stands and accidentally bumped one of their shoulders. No care at all, not even a single glance over his shoulder or any kind of sign that showed he cared about what happened.
One of the heroes, who he bumped his shoulder against, suspiciously stared at the retreating, cloaked, large backside of Wani and blinked before shrugging.
~~~An hour later~~~
Now that lunchtime is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game! But before that, there's good news to all of you who didn't make it to the finals! This is just a sports festival, so we created recreational games that everyone can participate in, too! We've even brought real cheerleaders from America to liven things up! Present mic exclaimed over the com and continued his speech, even the one regarding the other cheerleaders of class 1-A... All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games! When that's over, the eighteen from the five teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one! his announcement made the best friends who stood in the stadium near the rest of their class, gasp.
"H- Haru... Is this really a fighting tournament? I mean, there are many kinds of tournaments, so why..." Uviel trailed off when she pondered on the upcoming tournament. "Why, of all things...?" her eye started to twitch after she asked, never in her life did the girl fight except recently, when she fought the robot unknowingly.
"Dude, you're a gamer! You fight all the time, this shouldn't be any different!~ Just think of it as a 1v1 match!" Her best friend did her best to keep the mood light and made her smile brighten with each word.
"But, in a 1v1 match, all I'm doing is sitting and playing...! Not run around until my lungs give out!" Uviel's anger sparked, only for a groan to escape and a quick eye roll to avert her attention away from the brunette. The best thing I could probably do is imagine it as a 1v1 match in first-person mode... Only, I'm actually getting hit... the girl pondered on the idea for a bit while the announcer spoke over his com.
During everyone's little talk, Uviel took notes of the people who she and her friend would be up against and saw how some positions have changed according to the ones who moved up. Let's just say, lines connected to each opponent, and one of them ended up on a certain student that made her heart ram against her ribs. Those blue hues widened at the sight, of all people, she didn't want to go up against him! Her lips began to quiver at the name she seemed to have read over countless times, until Haru's voice woke her up from the unending disbelief.
"UV-Ray!~ Who am I up against?" the brunette questioned after her arm slung around the girl's shoulder, allowing a few giggles to escape.
"O- Oh, um..." Saito trailed off and looked for her name, just to notice the many connecting lines that seemed to have led up to... "Hitoshi Shinso..." those mumbled words made her friend lightly gasp and blink her green, hazed hues.
"Oooooh?~ Cool, at least it's not some stranger." With that comment, her tongue stuck out teasingly due to recalling what the redhead said about Wani earlier.
"Hush... You'll be his first opponent and then Midoriya, if well...you lose," Once Saito mentioned that with a point of her finger towards Shinso, Haru's attention moved in its direction and saw...with her scent-colored vision, the two conversing.
"It's you, isn't it? Midoriya Izuku." their conversation began and the brunette's ears picked up on every word. Though just before Izuku could even answer, the blonde kid who dropped out pulled his tail over the boy's mouth and halted him. The indigo-haired boy simply grinned and walked away towards the brunette, who kept her ears open to the green-haired kid.
"Ojiro, what's the matter?" Izu asked after being startled, his concern was obvious on his face when he turned to view the said student.
"Don't answer him..." Ojiro's answer not only left confusion on Midoriya's face but Yukimura's as well.
Don't...answer him? Haha, probably to avoid a fight or something.~ Heheeeeeeehehehehe, if I'm going up against Shinso later then why not poke a bit of fun? I want to see if I can creep him out. Hmm, should I act mute or deaf? Her thoughts continued as she watched him approach from the distance, his hands were soon stuffed into his pockets not long after.
"Looks like you're my first opponent. I look forward to the fight," his words made Uviel look over her shoulder at the boy and saw him gesture for a handshake. "If you've come this far with your blindness then I'm sure you can see me asking for a handshake." After that, Haru's gaze never left his distorting, colorful figure that she saw from all of the vibrations, smells, and sounds around her.
A clueless face came over the brunette when she stiffened up and acted as though she were a statue. Arms pressed stiffly against her sides, head facing Shinso, and her feet together, the redhead lift a brow at the behavior. "Oh great... What are you up to now, Har-Har?" Uviel's question remained unanswered when her best friend refused to move an inch. "Haru, stop fooling around..." a large sweatdrop fell over her head at the act Yukimura displayed.
As stiff as a board, little animated lines quivered at her sides as she struggled to maintain her posture. Struggling, her head turned just enough so the redhead could hear her whispered reply. "I'm playing dumb...~ Don't ruin my fun...!~" though she thought her words were quiet, Hitoshi managed to hear it and chuckled to himself.
"Ruin your fun? Heh, I'll admit...you have strange humor. Good luck in the finals," with a simple wave of his hand the boy wandered off somewhere and left the girls there. A very...strange sense of humor. Those dark grins and now her silly behavior, I'll admit... It was kind of...amusing to see her act like that when I approached. She's certainly interesting. Interest sparked in his purple eyes during his monologue and his grin broadened, there was just something about her that he seemed to like. Maybe it was her enthusiasm? Or perhaps how outgoing and cheerful she always seems to be? It was something and that something made his curiosity toward her grow even more.
"Saito! Good luck in our match, let the best fighter win!" Kirishima exclaimed from the distance as he ran toward the lighter redhead, whose smile could even outshine the sun. A fist rose up to the girl once his red eyes turned serious and his bright, confident smile remained.
"Uh...y-yeah...! Good luck..." Uviel trailed off and moved her attention to her shoes, before continuing. "Don't...hold back just because I'm a girl, either...please... I can take it," her quiet, shy words made his gaze light up with glee and admiration as soon as her small fist softly pressed against his own.
"Of course! That's so manly of you! Not wanting to be treated differently just because you're a girl is super manly! Everyone needs to see our full potential, so you can count on me to not hold back!" Cheerful, energetic, his laughter was like music to her ears, and when he lowered his fist... He watched the girl turn her head away with a red face, a hand covering her mouth all the while. Although annoyance was obvious on her features, she couldn't help but feel a tad frustrated by the word manly despite the throbbing of her heart. "Hey, you ok? You look like you're going to be sick!" Panic, the boy became frantic at the sight of her red face and couldn't tell if she was being her usual shy self around him or if she's sick.
"No, no, she's fine! She just has the ho-" When Haru was about to answer him from behind, a pale hand covered her mouth after sensing Saito fully face her.
"The...ho? Hm, you should go see Recovery Girl later, then. Don't push yourself too hard, ok?" his worried red eyes darted between the brunette and the girl he found rather adorable, every time she'd turn red; his words only made a puff of hot air leave the cyber-girl's ears.
As the boy wandered off somewhere, over his one shoulder his eyes worriedly watched Saito and kept his frown present. How she seems to act around him, something deep inside kept screaming at him that she doesn't act that way around just anyone. She always acts like that around me, but why? Is she blushing or is she just shy? I know that she has a hard time handling compliments considering our times at lunch and such. Hm, maybe that's just it, maybe it's because I'm always trying to encourage her. I really like how she's doing her best in public even though she's super shy, it's so manly of her to face her fears! After a moments' pause in his mind, his gaze moved up to the clouds in thought before continuing. Maybe I should ask for some advice...or some help. Adding to his mental words, a rough impact against someone's backside made him halt in place and flinched at realizing who it was. "Sorry about that, Bakugo!" a nervous chuckle left his lips when a hand lifted to rub the back of his head.
"HUUUH?! You did that on purpose! Don't give me that I'm sorry, shit!" Bakugo seemed to have been on edge from the collision and his usual, furious, comedic expression appeared the second his fingers started to spark from his quirk.
"Hahaha, no really! I am! I was just...really worried about someone and I wasn't watching where I was going!" Hands up in defense, a few beads of sweat fell down his head while his sharp teeth showed in his smile. Kirishima's reply seemed to have made the blonde calm down a tiny bit, cause the very hot-head's expression returned to its usual stern face.
"Worried...? I don't give a damn, just don't do it again!" Katsuki's scowl never left his face after calming down a little and not too much longer did someone else walk up to the two.
"What's up Kirishima? What's got you all worried?" The very blonde boy with a lightning streak in his hair, questioned as he got closer to the small group. Curiosity and worry could be seen on the boy's face, it was a little unlike Eijiro to look so uneasy.
"Ah, hey Denki! It's nothing serious!~ I'm just worried about Saito, is all," Kiri's gaze moved over to the cyber-girl, who kept conversing with her best friend in the distance and not once did his frown turn right-side up.
"Hm?" Denki confusedly blinked and peered over to the lighter redhead, just to hum in thought before moving his eyes back to his friend. "What's wrong with her?" As soon as he asked, Kiri stepped closer and looked at the boy with hope sparkling in his eyes.
"Something's been going on lately... Well, one of the things are..." he trailed off and returned his attention back to the conversing redhead. "Her recent behaviors... When we first met she was really shy, Yukimura already told me that it was normal for her to act that way but... I watched her around others before and her face doesn't get red unless she's around me, or when someone compliments her... That's when I started to think, maybe I'm not close enough to notice if she's sick? Or maybe I compliment and encourage her too much? That's probably why her face is always turning red around me; because I'm always trying to encourage her. She's always so shy and doubtful about herself so I can't help but to try and give her a boost," he explained with a simple scratch to his cheek. As soon as he looked over to Denki, he flinched at the utmost disturbing face he usually sees whenever perverse or mischievousness took place.
"Kiri, my guy! Why didn't you tell me you liked her?! It's obvious she's got a crush on you!" A playful slap to Eijiro's shoulder from his friend, made the redhead blush and frantically step back.
"A... A crush? But-but-but that doesn't explain anything! Her face gets red whenever someone compliments her too and tries to emotionally help her!" the boy was in complete denial when his hands rose and rapidly shook them, profuse sweat flew off of his forehead all the while.
"Well, we won't be able to find out until she's ready to say something then...!" Another voice echoed, gaining all eyes upon the boy who declared war at Kiri earlier. Tetsu came walking over to the three with his arms folded and a determined look showed just how serious he was taking their rivalry. "I'll make her blush at me instead! You won't have to worry about her red face when you're around her. Her eyes will only be on me!" Angry, the metal-head's tenacity never faltered during his speech and those black eyes bore into red ones, that changed from confused to strict.
"That's...not the only thing I'm worried about..." When Eijiro mentioned that part, the other three, yes including Bakugo, curiously hummed in unison. The recent memories of how Uviel acted, came to mind and made his attention move to the ground. "She's been acting strange... This one night I was heading home, I saw her running down the street really fast and when I caught up to her... She looked...emotionless and a weird light in her eyes that's usually never there faded away after I saved her from getting run over," As moments passed, so had their conversations, he explained what he witnessed from her during the nighttime sprint and against those robots from earlier.
"Really? Maybe we should tell the teacher?" Denki suggested with a quick glance toward Saito, before viewing Kiri again.
Tetsu kept his attention on the distant redhead while hidden thoughts swarmed his mind, about her mysteries and the attraction he had toward her. "Yeah, let's tell Mr. Aizawa later after the festival." Eijiro's words snapped the metal-head out of his thoughts and a frown soon took place.
Hey, I don't care what's going on with her! If she ends up attacking me like she did those robots then I'll blast her to metallic pieces...!" Bakugo roared out after his shaded, dark expression formed and scowled.
"Huh... I wonder what those two are going on about..." Uviel's mumble met the brunette's ears, watching the two boys bicker in the distance made confusion grow. However, the girl didn't hear the light snickering behind her from her friend, whose grin was sharp and a shadow hid her mischievous blind gaze.
Though, it didn't sink in completely, but when it did her snickering stopped and her once grinning lips fell. Wait, so it happened to her twice then? Worried for her best friend, a fist tightly clenched to her side when the girl began to ponder on Uviel's mental state. A light in her eyes, huh... Like earlier? I know she said she wasn't aware of her actions... Something's not right. After suspicion laced her mental words Yukimura kept viewing her colored figure through her vision.